Tech Connect Fall 2018

THE

SMART CITIES ISSUE

04 A Source of Smartness 05 Bright Idea 07 Nimble Networks

FALL 2018

PUBLISHERS Sandra Watson Steven G. Zylstra

EDITOR

Don Rodriguez

EXECUTIVE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

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BRIGHT IDEA

Susan E. Marie

ART DIRECTOR

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Yuma getting set to be first in U.S. to flip switch on smart city technology through streetlights.

Erin Loukili Lucky You! Creative

www.luckyyoucreative.com

DESIGNER

Jaclyn Threadgill

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Madison Arnold Kerry Bennett Molly Gilbert Chris Richardson Steve Yozwiak

E-MAIL techconnect@aztechcouncil.org For queries or customer service call 602-343-8324

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Guest editor Chris Richardson shares how ASU is turning into the right connection for cities.

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TechConnect is published by the Arizona Technology Council, 2800 N. Central Ave. #1530, Phoenix, AZ 85004.

Entire contents copyright 2018, Arizona Technology Council.

Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Products named in these page pages are trade names or trademarks of their respective companies. Publication of TechConnect is supported by the Arizona Commerce Authority.

A SOURCE OF SMARTNESS

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Coordination of resources is key as Arizona municipalities ramp up to new era.

ARIZONA COMMERCE AUTHORITY

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Transformation for the future already taking shape.

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Also Inside

014 Message from the Governor 015 The University of Arizona 016 Northern Arizona University 017 Arizona State University 018 TGen FALL 2018 TECH CONNECT

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Guest Editor

A Source of Smartness i

magine a world where you engage with your officials, not wait in line at their building. Imagine when you complete one form digitally, that information prepopulates and kicks off other digital transactions in the future, minimizing your time to get whatever you are trying to accomplish: trash/water service, getting a passport.

When you start with the citizen first and deconstruct what is often a process designed to manage flow of the citizen to the service, you can change the entire paradigm. For me, the SmartCities movement is an Internet of Things and customer experience mindset applied to citizens and the representatives of cities who manage the services provided to those citizens. I see us entering a world where our relationship with our cities becomes seamless and for the city, its costs to manage services are drastically reduced.

In order to get there, cities need to work together and a research institution like Arizona State University can serve as the right partner to get started. I was on a great career trajectory at Honeywell and did enjoy the changes I could see in my growing operational roles. However, what I wasn’t seeing was my direct contribution to how I, or more specifically, my place in that company was changing the world. What I saw in ASU was a foray away from operational process optimization to comprehensive outcomes. It was clear that the main technology cloud providers are proving they can do better than most internal teams for computing workloads. With a new mental model in this innovative environment of ASU, I saw my role becoming more of a creative influencer directly tied to reimagining what is possible through software solutions.

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CHRIS RICHARDSON

Why ASU is involved in smart cities could be something that doesn’t easily jump out at someone. To help, look to its charter: “advancing research and discovery of public value… overall health of the community it serves.” What I didn’t know at the time I left Honeywell was how different ASU was from the other universities, the extent of ASU President Michael Crow’s vision and the deep fabric of innovation that was being built across the enterprise. “More than simply tallying the innovative things we do, this ranking recognizes ASU’s innovation mindset,” Crow said upon ASU’s being ranked No. 1 in Innovation for the fourth straight year

by US News & World Report. “It acknowledges something important about who we are and who we will continue to be: a university that brings diverse intellects together to solve the most pressing issues of our time.”

There is tremendous depth at ASU around smart cities and technical research. The university is quickly on a trajectory to be the largest research institution in the U.S. without a medical school. Think of the University not just as a large campus but a small city itself. We have it all to explore: buildings and facilities management; transportation challenges; diverse stakeholders like employees, students, nonaffiliates and guests; entertainment venues for sports and cultural activities; and wellness facilities. Our delivering on the need to keep them all connected isn’t just innovative. It’s smart.

CHRIS RICHARDSON is deputy chief information officer – IT development, mobility, and smart cities at Arizona State University.

Close+up: Focusing on Significant Topics Affecting Technology Nodes installed atop streetlights are at the heart of the smart cities project.

BRIGHT IDEA Yuma’s switch to LED streetlights brings landmark move to smart city hen it comes to being first, Yuma has had its share of being No. 1. It’s where: • The first railroad train entered Arizona.

• The first dam on the Colorado River was built.

• The first plane to land in Arizona touched down.

To signal the start of a new era, Yuma next year will chalk up a new first when it becomes the first city in the nation — not just the state — to fully deploy smart city technology through a streetlight network.

If you think this means the streetlights will simply go on at sunset, think again. Nodes installed in the streetlights will be at the heart of the smart city technology. Besides containing advanced lighting controls, each node “has the capability for a gigabit citywide nest network,” says Ricky Rinehart, the city’s director of strategic initiatives.

His forecast of what lies ahead is based on what can be triggered by the nodes after an upgrade to LED lighting. “We can do hotspots, we can do cellular offload, we can use it for middle and last mile buildouts from an economic standpoint from a development standpoint. And then we’re also going to be able to use that device for our public safety and transportation needs as well from a smart cities perspective,” Rinehart says, because the nodes can be equipped with microphones and four 4K cameras offering views to the north, south, east and west.

The new technology offers an entry to detection of events such as gunshots, seismic activity and even the shaking of the balls in aerosol cans before graffiti artists can do any tagging, he says. And that’s just the start. “There are things right now that you and I can’t even think of that someone’s going to write a program or code for and they’ll be able to upload it into this device and be able to do some type of application or monitoring or whatever that thought or process FALL 2018 TECH CONNECT

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may be,” Rinehart says.

And to think, Yuma originally only wanted to upgrade its lights from high sodium to LED. Rinehart explains that Siemens, the company chosen for the streetlight replacement project, had an agreement with a company called anyCOMM, which was looking for a test bed for its nodes in a community with 10,000 streetlights. Even though the city was just short with 8,000, officials from both sides began talks that led to the selection of Yuma for the testing.

That translates into installation of up to 10,000 devices — valued at $10 million — with no out-of-pocket expense to the city for the installation or testing. Add to that anyCOMM will pick up all costs related any hardware or software upgrades during the life of the agreement, he says.

It’s not a mere coincidence that Yuma generated interest from anyCOMM. With its proximity to the border and serving as a base for U.S. military operations, Rinehart says city officials knew the company already was working on an agreement with the federal government at various levels and various departments. Using Yuma as a test bed “can go hand-in-hand with ongoing projects and commitments that they had on a regional as well as a federal level for Homeland Security,” he says. As an example, anyCOMM thinks it could create a virtual wall with the devices “and that’s something that they would like to be able to prove out.” Rinehart says.

Also consider what is happening in Arizona with testing of autonomous vehicles and interest in options for transportation corridors. “It fits right into this,” he says of Yuma’s perhaps playing a role.

Before any of this can happen, however, the lighting change needs to be done. “Right now, our whole focus has been on the advanced lighting controls and getting the policies and procedures in place so that we can start turning

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“It was like the stars were aligned in this project on a multitude of levels.”

- RICKY RINEHART, YUMA’S DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

up these other features as they become available,” he says. The upgrade from high sodium to LED lighting is approximately 40 percent complete, Rinehart says.

Still, that doesn’t prevent residents from already contacting the city with questions about the possibilities to come. “We’re getting inquiries from places in the community wanting to know when the cameras are going to be installed because they’re definitely will be a reduction in crime as well as an enhancement to our public safety capabilities,” he says.

There is another aspect that will get community involvement in a different way. As part of the agreement, Yuma will be the site of anyCOMM’s West Coast operations center capable of monitoring and supporting up to 12 million of the smart city nodes that will be installed across the West, Rinehart says. It will be one of four national operations centers across the nation.

The Yuma center is expected to be online within the next 24 months, he says. “So, we’re working with the local high schools, with the local community college, with the state universities as well to come up with a path to certification and a program to support that,” Rinehart says.

It’s not often that all of these opportunities would emanate from simply wanting to change light bulbs. “Absolutely,” he says. “It was like the stars were aligned in this project on a multitude of levels.”

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Creating connected communities takes coordination

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o a city or town, moving toward becoming a smart city is more than just plugging into the latest technology. It take planning, deciding, and working together with local government leaders, their citizens and others. TechConnect asked Travis Cutright, chief information officer for the city of Mesa, and Laurie Buczek, deputy town manager for the town of Gilbert, to share insight on where their respective municipalities are headed.

What does a “smart city” mean to you?

Cutright: Smart city does mean something different for each organization. For the City of Mesa, being a smart city is extending services to our citizens in an efficient manner when and how they want services delivered. This could be 24x7 access to things such as utility bills and usage, permits, establishing utility services, access to event tickets, travel times. Internally, being a smart city is identifying and utilizing data to make better business decisions for the organization, more responsive public safety,

determining the types of services that our citizens need or want.

Buczek: We view smart cities within a larger context of innovation. We have four vectors of innovation: culture, citizen centricity, community collaboration and connected technology.

Technology alone is an enabler, a means to an end. “Being smart” involves empowering employees to bring forth new ideas on how we can be faster, simpler, efficient and effective for those who live, work and play in Gilbert.

“Being smart” is understanding the expectations of our citizens and business community so we may design seamless services. “Being smart” is harnessing the innovative ideas and capabilities within our community. We need a layered approach of private, public, nonprofit and higher education to tackle the larger opportunities within the town. Finally, “being smart” is connecting data and technology so that we can sense, predict, automate, and mobilize FALL 2018 TECH CONNECT

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connections and services for our community where and when they want them.

How are you progressing towards that vision?

Buczek: We are putting the finishing touches on our Innovation Strategy & Roadmap to be published soon. We have already been putting some citizen-centric approaches into action to develop use cases that either solve a problem or create an opportunity with connected technology as an enabler. We have a healthy list of pilots that we are exploring. A small sampling includes testing improved traffic flow in areas with increased congestion; assisting with wayfinding ranging from open parking spots in downtown to finding a location of a designated sport field in our parks; automated issue reporting with town infrastructure such as a street light outage; and alerting residents when their trash/recycling truck is 20 minutes away (“Where’s my truck?”) so they don’t miss service.

Cutright: We are in the process of developing a smart city master plan for the City of Mesa that will help us be more focused across all city departments on being a “smarter city.” We have great support from our mayor, council and city management, so this is a great launch point to the City of Mesa being more data focused and innovative.

Describe how your city is organized and how the interplay of functional vision aligns with technical leadership. What barriers are you overcoming in doing so? What is working well so far?

Buczek: To eliminate organizational barriers to truly innovate, the Town of Gilbert created a “hub” of innovation that includes the departments of Information Technology, HR, Digital Government and Office of Management & Budget under one deputy town manager ultimately responsible for innovation. These four departments have critical horizontal services and capabilities to power smart city initiatives. We have also created cross-organization core teams

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to focus efforts around areas such as connected “smart” technology or data privacy. These core teams are made up of department representatives who champion new efforts and provide change leadership. In addition, we have created a new position of a chief technology officer, which combines a CIO role and a strategic technology role into one leader. So far, this model is working extremely well and eliminates having to influence key departments such as IT to provide support to a critical smart city initiative.

Cutright: We are a council-manager form of government, so the city council and mayor set policy, and the city manager and staff implement the policy. The City of Mesa is comprised of 21 departments that report either directly or indirectly (through assistant city managers or deputy city managers) to the city manager. As a city, we are guided ultimately by our council’s strategic priorities. Each department’s respective strategic plans map back to the strategic priorities of the city ultimately. As the chief information officer for the city, I made sure that our strategic plan and roadmap considered both the city’s strategic priorities, as well as input from all the other departments. Our goal is to partner with all the departments to help them achieve their goals in the most efficient way possible. I believe that our approach is working very well and has been successful in breaking though any silos that may have existed. We have had great participation from all departments and city management in our creation of the city’s smart city master plan.

Provide the best example of a smart city project in your city. What’s the project name, why is it representative and what benefit has it provided?

Buczek: One of the best examples of a smart city project is our open data portal. Data is a critical part of being “smart.” One of the first steps we wanted to take is to start to make data sets available to the public. This effort has also

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“I believe that smart cities efforts is the avenue to Arizona becoming a smart state.”

- TRAVIS CUTRIGHT, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF MESA

allowed us to begin to improve our internal operational efficiencies with data portability, normalization and management. We also designed the open data portal with a citizencentric approach and created an avatar guide called “Alex.” Alex helps to provide the data via visual storytelling, making the information more consumable by users.

Cutright: A recent example of the successful implementation of a smart city project in Mesa was the launch of Accela in our Development Services department. This project allows developers to apply for permits, check status of permits, upload drawings and documents—all electronically. This has taken a huge load off the Development Services’ front desk staff, as well as improved the permitting time for the development community. Another project that we are undertaking that would fall under “smart city” is our building automation project. We are in the process of evaluating HVAC systems and looking to pull usage data and optimizing our HVAC systems to reduce energy consumption in our facilities.

Are any Arizona-based companies or organizations involved in your efforts? If so, what roles are they serving?

Cutright: We have had conversations with Arizona Institute for Digital Progress as we’ve been working our way through this smart city initiative. They have shed light on how other

organizations are leveraging innovation to become more efficient in their service delivery.

It is always helpful to understand ways that data can be used to serve our community better. Additionally, we are looking to partner more with Arizona State University, as well as other educational institutions within the city of Mesa to create an Innovation District here in downtown Mesa.

Buczek: This space is changing rapidly.

We feel it is important to remain connected with counterparts within neighboring cities, connect with cities across the nation who are early adopters along with many of the private companies in the Arizona Technology Council, ASU and Arizona Institute for Digital Progress, to name a few. It truly does take a village to be a smart city and a smart region.

Can the smart cities efforts be the connection that moves Arizona toward becoming a smart state? How so?

Buczek: Absolutely. Much of the data and technology will not live just within a city’s border.

As we look ahead to blockchain and smart transportation (i.e., connected and autonomous vehicles), this will require regional efforts and eventually statewide initiatives. The city initiatives are the spark that will eventually ignite the larger statewide efforts. How the greater Phoenix region and the state of Arizona leverage technology is a critical factor in growing our economy. I see lots of opportunity before us.

Cutright: I believe that smart cities efforts is the avenue to Arizona becoming a smart state, although I’m sure the state of Arizona has its own initiatives to improve service delivery to the citizens of Arizona. With the rise of more smart cities throughout the state, this translates to more data that can be used by agencies across the state to make smarter business decisions and deliver services more efficiently to the citizens of the state.

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FUTURE FROM THE PAST Scottsdale considers new way to gauge noise, air pollution impact

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sing today’s smart cities technology to look at the past in order to predict the future.

That’s what the city of Scottsdale is weighing as it considers the impact noise has had on the community.

The noise typically has been associated with special events and concerts, which tend to be more transient in nature, says Randy Grant, the city’s planning and development director. “What we use right now for noise space responses is standard weighted noise meters and they are good with picking up ambient weighted averages,” he says. “They’re not good at picking up the base frequencies over spikes.”

Darren Elven, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Colorado-based Archethought, worked with the city to look a little deeper, proposing to “basically get the baseline of sound intelligence, not necessarily to use it for conflict resolution but to use it to understand what developers are doing to the urban environment.” City and company officials are talking about how to provide data points that they can build a history upon then analyze season over season, year over year for planning.

“They’re really looking at how the IoT-style sensor now provides access to a level of data that previously has been unattainable,” says Elven, referring to the Internet of Things.

Grant says the city is considering whether to have the sensors be mobile to measure special events or stationary to get background readings. “If he hadn’t come in and kind of opened us up to what the technology opportunities are,

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we would probably continue on with the noise meters and work through them as best we can,” he says of Elven.

Another issue that Scottsdale and the rest of the Valley of the Sun face is the impact of pollution. “We’ve got the stringent requirements that have to be met and we’re relying on fairly remote, in some instances, sensing units that may not reflect actual conditions,” Grant says. For example, one of Scottsdale’s sensors is downtown and the other at Pinnacle Peak, which measures higher readings of ozone. “It may be floating in that direction, traveling that direction but the migration isn’t a reflection of where it’s being generated,” he says.

That has led to considering whether the chosen solution for monitoring noise can also accommodate a more accurate detection of pollutants. “So, my question was could we equip these with sensors that could detect ozone and particulates so that we could have more sensing points around the Valley and have a better sense of what the coverage is,” Grant says.

Since response to Environmental Protection Agency requirements is a regional issue, any solutions would be up to the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG). Scottsdale’s director of environmental services is a member of MAG’s air quality committee, so he will raise the potential solution for more accurate monitoring on a regional level, Grant says.

Providing an education to municipalities on the potential of the latest smart cities technology and relatively low cost is all in a day’s work for Elven. “Capitalizing on IoT, capitalizing on the cost of technology shrinking constantly is definitely part of the education here because predominantly the tech literacy of many cities is very far behind industry,” he says.

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WITH THE USER IN MIND New Arizona Technology Council website uses visitor data to maintain engagement

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hile any organization wants its website to engage visitors, it’s often hit or miss whether that goal is accomplished. If it’s a miss, years could pass before there’s enough money to try to get it right. By that time, all sorts of opportunities for both sides’ connecting may be lost.

This scenario of uncertain outcomes is what the Arizona Technology Council wants to avoid with the creation of its new website.

Instead, the Council prefers its community of users feel the site is a place to which they return again and again while having an experience that builds their ties to the group.

To make this happen, the Council partnered with Nuanced Media, a Tucson and Phoenixbased digital marketing agency. The new www.aztechcouncil.org uses a growth-driven design strategy championed by HubSpot.

“We are dedicated to providing the best possible experience for our members and the technology community as a whole,” says Steven G. Zylstra, the Council’s president and CEO. “Our website is a high priority because it’s the hub for discovering networking events, critical public policy resources and content that is valuable to technology leaders and companies.

We’re thrilled with the results and look forward to continuing to work with Nuanced Media to strategically evolve it.”

To feed that evolution, user data will allow the Council to continuously make improvements, not just wait for years to pass to try something new. “Typically, companies engage a digital marketing agency for a new website and the contract concludes when the site is

complete,” says Ryan Flannagan, Nuanced Media’s CEO. “We feel this is a dated strategy that fails to consider the target audience. With our approach, we can make adjustments based on user data to ensure it remains valuable to the community.”

Nuanced Media has refined its process of doing website improvements based on real user data along with continual enhancement of websites’ calls to action, messaging and other key elements as all updates are based on strategic planning approved by the client. Among its hundreds of clients worldwide are Council members ANALYZE and CIS Global.

The new Council website also showcases a simplified design that puts the most pertinent information for the technology community front and center. In addition, the site was developed to be responsive and mobile-friendly to engage those who browse the web on mobile platforms.

This is a must since mobile Internet usage has surpassed desktop usage.

The Council and Nuanced Media will collect user data from visitors to determine what is working and where improvements can be made.

Using this growth-driven design strategy, HubSpot reports that companies see an average of 16.51 percent more leads and 11.45 percent more revenue.

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FUTURE Smart city transformation taking shape in Arizona >> BY SANDRA WATSON

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or the first time in recent history, urban areas are attracting more of the world’s population than rural regions.

That trend is forecast to continue. By 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population is expected to be living in urban areas. This rapid urbanization will require intelligent solutions for effectively managing our cities and their growing populations.

At the heart of those solutions will be the development of smart cities—data-driven, connected places utilizing shared knowledge and technology to improve citizens’ lives. The term “smart city” has become ubiquitous. While some may think of The Jetsons and flying cars, many of the elements that actually define a true smart city are happening right before our eyes, right here in Arizona.

Led by Gov. Doug Ducey, our state’s business community, elected officials and academia have rolled up their sleeves and established Arizona as a leader in this space.

“There is a lot of talk around the country about governance rights on the local, state and federal level. In many communities, this is a contentious debate but in the greater Phoenix area, there is an inspiring alignment about how best to benefit each community, region and the state as a whole,” Digi.City founder Chelsea Collier remarked after a panel discussion on smart cities hosted by the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) last year.

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“Cities of all sizes can learn a lot from the example that the Phoenix region is setting.”

INTERNET OF THINGS As one of the fastest-growing technology markets in the United States, Arizona has become a leader in Internet of Things (IoT) deployment. These billions of connected devices—the hardware, software and data – make up the backbone of smart city technology.

In 2015, there were 15 billion connected devices around the world, according to Intel, which has its IoT division headquartered in Arizona. By 2020, the semiconductor giant projects that the total number of connected devices worldwide will reach 200 billion.

In Chandler, Intel is completing Fab 42—the world’s most advanced semiconductor factory— which will produce the microprocessors needed to power these IoT devices.

5G TECHNOLOGY With the rise of these connected devices, one thing is certain: The need for data will only increase. There will be more users, more devices and more consumption of information.

The next generation of wireless communications, or 5G, will be critical in supporting and serving the connected devices that are forecast to be interwoven into the fabric of our everyday lives in just a few short years.

In spring 2017, Arizona became the first state in the nation to streamline the deployment of “small cell technology,” which lays the foundation for 5G. The legislation Governor Ducey signed to enable 5G will make it easy to add capacity to existing wireless networks, strengthening Arizona’s reputation as the best state to test, scale and succeed.

AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES Many global leaders in driverless-car technology have chosen Arizona as the location to advance their technology. The sensors, GPS, radar, lidar and real-time data that power these vehicles will work seamlessly with smart cities of the future.

In 2015, Governor Ducey was the first to issue an executive order to support the testing and operation of autonomous vehicles. This spurred significant investments by several leading companies—Waymo, Lyft, Ford, GM, Intel and TuSimple—into the state.

In November 2017, The New York Times ran a story titled “Where Self-Driving Cars Go to Learn,” highlighting Arizona’s global leadership in this space. It praised Governor Ducey’s pro-innovation mindset with sparking a “tech boom” in our state.

UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS These devices are already being flown to support first responders, fight forest fires, improve traffic flow, inspect infrastructure and other functions.

Arizona with its wide-open spaces, thriving aerospace sector and culture of innovation is a natural location for developing and testing unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

The ACA’s new AZSkyTech program launched earlier this year will do just that. The program will help position our state as the premier place to test, deploy and advance commercial UAS technology and policy.

The integration of UAS into the national airspace system is forecast to create 100,000 jobs nationally and a cumulative economic impact of $82 billion by 2025. Due to our

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existing strengths, Arizona is expected to be among the top five states in the nation in terms of job creation and additional revenue, according to a study by the nonprofit Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.

CYBERSECURITY As we move toward building smart cities and our infrastructure is increasingly embedded with intelligent devices, ensuring the security of these systems is critical.

With the sixth-largest concentration of cybersecurity jobs in the nation, Arizona has many assets that have established our state as a center of excellence in cybersecurity.

These range from military installations such as Fort Huachuca to former military operations like AZLabs (Arizona Laboratory for Security and Defense Research), which retained its high-security protocols, making it one of the most unique and capable cyber defense facilities in the nation.

Arizona is also home to nonprofit and university resources, which are producing research and training in this area to propel Arizona as one of the most cyber-prepared states in the nation.

Additionally, to ensure Arizona remains the most cyber-prepared state, Governor Ducey formed the Arizona Cybersecurity Team (ACT) by executive order in early 2018. This brings together a diverse set of experts from state, local and federal governments; the private sector; and higher education to work together to protect Arizonans and our infrastructure.

The cities of the future hold the potential to not only improve the lives of citizens but also to benefit the economy by creating new jobs and increasing efficiency. In Arizona, our approach to allowing emerging technologies to flourish, creating a pro-innovation environment and encouraging collaboration, has positioned our state at the forefront of the “smart cities” revolution.

SANDRA WATSON is president & CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority and co-publisher of TechConnect.

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Message from the Governor

Building a Smart

Foundation for our Future f

or generations, the building of American communities has been driven by creating an environment for families and businesses to thrive. This blueprint was largely based on infrastructure such as streets, rail, bridges, dams, schools and other facilities needed for a thriving community.

While traditional infrastructure is still important, the building blocks of the 21st century also call for expanding a data-driven ecosystem that places an emphasis on digital technology, connectivity and instant sharing of information.

As we look to the future, Arizona is leading the way in developing this infrastructure to support what are becoming known as “smart cities” that will utilize emerging technologies designed to make lives safer, healthier and more efficient.

Why is this important? Consider this: By 2050, over half of the world’s population — an estimated 6.4 billion people — will be living in urban areas.

Combine this with an estimated 200 billion connected devices worldwide and there’s a true need for technological solutions for effectively managing cities to support their rapidly growing populations.

Arizona recognizes the enormous potential for these smart cities to improve lives and drive economic growth. We‘re fortunate to have tech giants operating in our state, including Intel, which has its Internet of Things (IoT) division headquartered in our state. Intel predicts the total global value of IoT technologies — the connected devices that will enable the rise of smart cities — could reach $6.2 trillion by 2025. About 77 percent of that value is estimated to come from devices in health care and manufacturing, two industries in which Arizona is already leading the way.

As a former CEO, I understand the importance of having an environment that gives businesses

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GOV. DOUG DUCEY

the space to create jobs without burdensome regulation. As Governor, I’m committed to doing everything possible to foster an innovation economy that will support the future of our state and nurture this environment.

In 2017, Arizona became the first state in the nation to pave the way for 5G technology, helping the expansion of faster Internet connectivity across the state. We are also staying ahead of the curve in digital technologies like blockchain. This year, legislation passed to make Arizona the first state to establish a regulatory sandbox allowing startups and entrepreneurs in the FinTech sector to test new financial products without regulatory burdens that might otherwise hamper innovation.

These types of emerging technologies are sure to play an integral part in the rise of smart cities.

Arizona’s innovative spirit is not going unnoticed. Recently, Belmont Partners announced it will build the first smart city from the ground up in Arizona. The 24,000 acres that encompass the city of Belmont will be developed with a focus on implementing the digital and physical infrastructure required for the city of the future. We are looking forward to seeing the development of this forward-thinking city and the elevated role technology will play in building this newly designed city.

Arizona has seen impressive growth over the past four years, and we’re just getting started. As home to Maricopa County — the fastest growing county in the nation — and one of the top five states overall for population growth, Arizona is thinking ahead and preparing to build 21st century, smart communities that will continue to make it the best place to live, work and recreate.

UPDATE THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

DRIVEN TO SUCCEED Smart Vehicles and Intelligent Transportation Initiative at the core WRITING BY >< MOLLY GILBERT

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he concept of smart cities was propelled to the national stage in 2015 with the launch of the U.S. Department of Transportation Smart City Challenge. The Challenge asked mid-sized cities how they would use technology to create a smart transportation system.

Seventy-eight cities submitted proposals, seven cities were selected as finalists and one city, Columbus, Ohio was selected the winner. To date, more than $350 million has been leveraged through public-private partnerships (P3) to create and solve transportation issues.

Transportation is core to defining a smart city. In Southern Arizona, there are several initiatives underway, including the Southern Arizona Smart Vehicles and Intelligent Transportation Initiative (SVIT). Partners around the table include The University of Arizona, Tech Parks Arizona, Pima County, City of Tucson, Pima Community College, Musselman Honda Circuit, Pima Association of Governments and the Arizona Commerce Authority. SVIT’s goal is to define the region as a Center of Excellence for smart and connected vehicles, and intelligent transportation systems.

As a P3, the group is working to promote the region to industry while supporting the inherent competitive advantage offered by the region.

The University of Arizona Transportation Research Institute (TRI) was established in 2016, succeeding the ATLAS research center launched in 1998 and bringing together faculty from across campus as an interdisciplinary center.

Faculty from the College of Engineering; the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health; and the College of Architecture, Planning and

Landscape Architecture are all active with TRI. In 2018, Gov. Doug Ducey signed Executive Order 2018-04, opening the way for companies to test autonomous vehicles in Arizona. This has opened the door for industry to test in the state, particularly on the roadways of Arizona’s universities’ campuses.

The UA Tech Park provides the testing and demonstration capabilities for connected and autonomous vehicles. The Park has designed one of its roads, Science Park Drive, to become a smart road. With the infrastructure and capabilities in place to test new technology and conduct research on the effects of these vehicles on the roadway, the Park is seeking federal funds to advance the project. The Park has also partnered with local race track Musselman Honda Circuit to provide additional testing and demonstration capabilities for companies.

In 2017, the region successfully recruited TuSimple, an autonomous truck company, to Tucson. TuSimple announced in September plans to expand and add 500 jobs. In 2016, Caterpillar, with its autonomous testing grounds located in Southern Arizona, moved its operations out of Illinois to Tucson and is rapidly expanding.

Looking forward, a key component of being a smart transportation system is redesigning existing roadways and designing new ones for autonomous and connected vehicles, and smart transportation systems. Fiber infrastructure is also needed to support these smart systems.

Integrating redesigned roadways, fiber infrastructure and the Internet of Things is key to preparing our future as a smart city.

MOLLY GILBERT is director of university and community

engagement, Tech Parks Arizona.

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UPDATE NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY

CHANGE FOR THE BETTER Engineers develop new technologies for intelligent cities WRITING BY >< KERRY BENNETT

a

t Northern Arizona University, engineers are developing new technologies to meet the needs of the intelligent cities of the future using mobile apps and cloud-based computing backed by new sensing technologies, machine learning algorithms and tools for data analytics.

Transportation systems

Chun-Hsing Ho, an NAU civil engineer and associate professor, develops technologies to improve intelligent transportation systems: “instrumented bicycle” sensing technology to monitor road conditions and vehicle vibration sensors to monitor pavement roughness.

As cycling becomes increasingly popular, cities worldwide are expanding their urban cycling networks. For municipal authorities, properly maintaining bike trails is a growing concern. Ho is developing instrumented bicycles employing vibration sensor technology consisting of geospatial and remote sensors, a mobile application and a cloud-based platform.

“The cycling community could use these bicycles as tools to assess road/bike trail conditions and share real-time information with local authorities,” says Ho. As a road becomes rougher, vehicles vibrate more, causing delays, accidents, noise pollution and faster deterioration of the road’s surface.

Ho is developing a cost-effective, vehicle-based vibration sensor that can predict asphalt roughness and identify critical cracking locations for better, faster pavement maintenance.

Energy systems

Truong Nghiem, an NAU control engineer and assistant professor, designs tools for smart energy systems such as smart buildings and smart grids. In his Intelligent Control Systems lab, Nghiem and his team are developing

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advanced methods and algorithms for intelligent and high-performance control systems that are at the core of many complex and critical energy and infrastructure systems. Enabled by recent advances in computing and machine learning, and utilizing rich data from Internet of Things systems, Nghiem’s smart control algorithms learn from data to optimize the real-time operation of energy and infrastructure systems to achieve energy efficiency, energy security and safety.

“Distributed data-driven intelligence in smart control algorithms will be the backbone of future smart cities,” says Nghiem.

Flood information system

As flooding becomes more prevalent and more severe, cities face an increasing risk of flood damage. Ben Ruddell, an NAU civil engineer and associate professor, is co-leading a project with Eck Doerry, an NAU software engineer and professor, to pilot a new flood information system for cities that connects first responders, citizens and infrastructure professionals in nearreal time with the exact flood information for the locations where they need it most. Along with collaborators at Arizona State University, The University of Arizona, University at Buffalo and Michigan Technological University, Ruddell will partner with local, federal and academic stakeholders to identify the best data sources for a smart and connected urban community information system to minimize flood risk.

“We call this system the Integrated Flood Stage Observation Network,” says Ruddell. The system is engineered so that it can eventually be scaled up to every city in the U.S.” KERRY BENNETT is Northern Arizona University’s research

communications officer. Connect at nau.edu.

UPDATE ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

‘CITIZEN-CENTERED’ Educating future smart city experts WRITING BY >< MADISON ARNOLD

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very time we turn on the news, log in to social media or visit a store, we are inundated with references to smart technologies. Now, even whole cities are being labeled as “smart.”

But what does that mean for the people who live in these cities?

A new $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will help Arizona State University launch a graduate research training program focusing on just that: citizen-centered smart cities.

The grant is part of the NSF’s Research Traineeship (NRT) Program designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new and potentially transformative models for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduate education training.

ASU’s project launched this fall.

“Our project will prepare students to become the engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs and policymakers who lead this growing field and shape the future of smart cities in a human-centric way,” says Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, principal investigator for the project and director of ASU’s Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing.

The project, called “Citizen-Centered Smart Cities and Smart Living,” aims to take an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and developing smart cities with individual citizens at the forefront of attention.

Multiple co-principal investigators from ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering bring unique perspectives to the project: • Ann McKenna, director of The Polytechnic School at ASU, brings expertise in engineering education.

• Gail-Joon Ahn, a professor in the School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision

Systems Engineering, focuses on cybersecurity.

• Ram Pendyala, a professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, specializes in transportation systems.

• Cynthia Selin, an associate professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society, contributes her expertise in ethics and technology in citizen engagement.

“What does a citizen need from a smart city? How could they benefit from a smart city?

And how can they engage better in smart cities?

There is a lot of focus on citizen awareness, engagement and education as part of this project we’ve put together,” says Troy McDaniel, an ASU assistant research professor at the School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering. McDaniel is providing expertise on human-computer interaction, assistive technology, accessibility and inclusion for the project.

One of the project’s main goals is successful recruitment, retention and graduation of STEM students from diverse backgrounds, including underrepresented minorities, women and individuals with disabilities.

Another goal is career placement for students and development of new career paths for STEM graduates in smart cities-related positions. The project will also strive to achieve community, national and global impact through shared research findings and project outcomes.

The NSF selected only 17 institutions across the United States to participate in this highly competitive program, including Stanford University, University of California, Los Angeles and University of Texas, Austin.

MADISON ARNOLD is a writer for Knowledge Enterprise Development at Arizona State University.

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UPDATE TGEN

TGen President Dr. Jeffrey Trent (center) at a TGen Ambassadors spring training event with Graham Rossini (left), Arizona Diamondbacks vice president of special projects and fan experience and an Ambassador, and Luis Gonzalez, senior advisor to the Diamondbacks president and CEO.

MAJOR MILESTONE TGen Ambassadors recruit group’s 100th member WRITING BY >< STEVE YOZWIAK

r

ecruitment of the 100th member is a major milestone for the TGen Ambassadors, a group of donors and advocates who support the biomedical advances being made by the Translational Genomics Research Institute, an affiliate of City of Hope.

Reine Yazbeck, a vice president and nonprofit business-banking manager for Wells Fargo, recently became the 100th member, adding to TGen’s network of working professionals and emerging leaders.

“I joined TGen Ambassadors because I wanted to learn more about all the tremendous, groundbreaking research happening right here in Arizona. My hope in joining the TGen Ambassadors is to help make a deeper impact in the lives of others,” Yazbeck says. “While it sounds simple enough in so many ways, it truly takes an entire community, tenacious collaborative efforts, and an unwavering commitment to stand united in order to effectuate the medical change needed in impacting and saving precious lives.”

Examples of TGen Ambassadors events have included an Arizona Diamondbacks spring training game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick and the opportunity to meet Luis “Gonzo” Gonzalez, who made the game-winning hit that won the 2001 MLB World Series for the Diamondbacks. The March 2018 event was organized by Graham Rossini, D-backs vice president of fan experience—and an inaugural member of TGen Ambassadors.

A more recent TGen Ambassadors event occurred Sept. 25 at the recently renovated ASU Sun Devil Stadium, where members learned about TGen’s efforts to quickly and precisely diagnose head injuries and brain disease, and its leadership in the emerging field of

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genomics-guided exercise.

In 2002, visionary Arizona leaders in science, business and government united through networking, advocacy and philanthropy to establish TGen, making The Grand Canyon State a frontier in biomedical technology.

“Through TGen Ambassadors, we look to a new generation of advocates to take up the mantle of leadership and propel that vision forward,” says Dean Ballard, development director for the TGen Foundation, the fundraising arm of non-profit TGen. Today, TGen is a global leader in genomic science and precision medicine, which is the process of taking laboratory discoveries and quickly turning those breakthroughs into new therapies that immediately benefit patients with disorders such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, infectious diseases and many types of cancer.

“I am so incredibly proud to be a member of TGen Ambassadors,” says David Lodwick, regional chief financial officer of Alliance Residential Company and the first member of TGen Ambassadors when the group formed in early 2016. “I had no idea nearly three years ago that I would be joined by so many other young professionals in supporting TGen, and touting the futuristic technologies of this amazing institute.”

TGen Ambassadors annually make a gift of $1,000 each to the TGen Foundation, and extend their financial commitment to advocacy within their professional networks and beyond.

To learn more about TGen Ambassadors, please contact Dean Ballard at DBallard@tgen.org or call him at 602-343-8543.

STEVE YOZWIAK is the senior science writer for the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen). Connect at www.tgen.org.

To join the Arizona Technology Council, a member-supported group that represents the interests of the state’s technology community, go the www.aztechcouncil.org.

Altair Engineering is a leading provider of enterprise-class engineering software enabling innovation, reduced development times and lower costs through the entire product lifecycle from concept design to in-service operation. www.altair.com Appian is a platform for building enterprise software applications. You don’t code your application. You draw it with an approach called ‘’Low-Code’’ development. www.appian.com Arete Associates is a privately owned business with locations nationwide that employ world-class experts in their respective scientific fields to provide national security products to the U.S. government. www.arete.com Arizona Department of Economic Security Division of Technology Services (DTS) Assistant Director’s Office enables service programs at the largest agency in the state with IT solutions that promote safety, well-being and self-sufficiency of children, adults and families in Arizona. https://des.az.gov/ Arizona Mining Association is a diversified mining association that is the unified voice of responsible, sustainable and safe mining in Arizona through education and alliances with other industry groups. www.azmining.com Arizona Telemedicine Program is a large, multidisciplinary, university-based program that provides telemedicine services, distance learning, informatics training and telemedicine technology assessment capabilities to communities throughout the state. www.telemedicine.arizona.edu Audacious Studios has four teams serving distinct needs: Sitewire (digital product studio), Cast & Hue (customer experience consulting), August United (influencer marketing) and Tailwind (performance marketing). www.audaciousstudios.com AVISON YOUNG is the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services.

AVISONYOUNG.com

NEW MEMBERS

Axis Recruiting Solutions is a full-service supplemental staffing and recruiting company whose goal is to bring together organizations with the highest caliber of professionals while providing unsurpassed customer service. www.

AxisRecruitingSolutions.com Arizona Small Business Development Center Network is the state’s largest and most accessible statewide source of small business assistance. Its team of business analysts, technology specialists and subject matter experts are dedicated to providing counseling, education and training to new and expanding technology businesses. www.dist.maricopa.edu/sbdc Bayer Crop Science is constructing a 7-acre greenhouse in Pima County for corn seed production. It will use automation and robotics to assist people with the production process. Bayer.com BlackBar Engineering is a small engineering and manufacturing company that specializes in the research, design, development and operation of unmanned systems, subsystems and components. www.blackbarengineering.com Blum-Roberts Group, West USA Commercial Division assists clients with achieving their commercial real estate sales and leasing goals.

BrightMoney Academy is now delivering world-class financial literacy and wealth creation training to residents and employees statewide. www.brightmoneyacademy.com CGI Technologies and Consulting is one of the world’s largest IT and business consulting services firms. It helps clients achieve their goals, including becoming customer-centric digital organizations. www.cgi.com City of Peoria is building a strong community built on technology and the new economy. Future employment centers along the Loop 303 corridor will have the capacity to create 120,000 jobs that the city is pursuing in high technology, research and development, the biosciences, higher education and training. www.peoriaaz.gov City of Phoenix - Information Technology Services Department coordinates the use of IT across the

various departments and agencies of city government. The department also manages the city’s radio, telephone and enterprise computer network systems. https://www.phoenix.gov/its Cloud LGS is a digital marketing agency in Arizona that offers website design, search engine optimization (SEO), payper-click management (PPC), social media marketing and local listing services. www.CloudLGS.com Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona responds to the root causes of hunger and seeks to restore dignity, health, opportunity and hope to people living in poverty. Its mission is to change lives. www.communityfoodbank.org Cosant Cyber Security builds IT/cyber security policies for organizations then creates tailored training, awareness and education programs specific to their people, policy and process. https://cosant.com/ Cotlow Company is a corporate real estate development, leasing and sales firm. www.cotlow.com Creative Human Resources Concepts provides human resources services that include full-service staffing and skilled labor job classifications. It also provides project leadership, QA and inspections. www.chrc4work.com Critical Project Services acts as the owner’s representative in the construction of new data center buildings, tenant improvements to critical facilities, and all sorts of services centered around IT. www.cpsllc.com Culture Engineered is an HR and culture consulting company for mid-size businesses. Using online feedback tools and benchmark data, it helps businesses develop and deliver cultures that work.

CultureEngineered.com DataBank IMX is North America’s leading end-to-end business process solution provider. It is a one-stop shop when it comes to the tools, services and solutions that fit the way you work. www.databankimx.com Datadog is a monitoring and analytics platform for BizDevOps teams. It monitors the entire stack to bring it all togethFALL 2018 TECH CONNECT

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NEW MEMBERS er in a unified view of the infrastructure, applications, and event logs. https:// www.datadoghq.com/ Directions Training Center is a nationwide leader in IT, business and enterprise training solutions. It helps clients achieve success and realize maximum business efficiency. www.directionstraining.com DISYS is a global staffing, IT consulting and managed services firm with more than 33 offices worldwide. www.disys.com Duralar Technologies is a global nanotechnology company that has developed ultra-hard coatings. These next-generation products are designed to replace hard chrome plating, thermal spray coatings and many other metal coatings. www.duralar.com Eclipse Automation is a leading supplier of custom automated manufacturing equipment for the life sciences, energy, transportation, mining, industrial/consumer and electronics/telecommunications industries. www.eclipseautomation.com Economic Incentives Advisory Group is a national company that helps companies apply for state and federal incentives. It also manages all the compliance and administration of the programs. www.eiagincentives.com Envirosystems is a manufacturer of custom dust collection and paint stripping equipment. www.envirosystemsllc.com

To join the Arizona Technology Council, a member-supported group that represents the interests of the state’s technology community, go the www.aztechcouncil.org.

Eviation Aircraft has pioneered the industry’s first all-electric aircraft as it works to meet the goal of changing the way people move regionally. www.eviation.co ExaGrid provides hyperconverged secondary storage for backup with data deduplication, a unique landing zone, and scale-out architecture for the fastest backups, restores and instant VM recoveries. exagrid.com Experis IT knows IT talent and how to find it whether you need 50 IT geniuses to help out with new technology implementation or a single IT whiz for 18 months. www.experis.com Focus HR protects people and performance with principles. It helps business owners manage payroll, HR, employee benefits, workers’ compensation and retirement planning. https://www.focushr.net/ FreeFall - Moving Data is developing smart antenna technology to revolutionize the way data moves throughout the 5G world with maximum efficiency, and minimum cost and impact to the environment. https://freefallmovingdata.com/ Goodway Group is the managed service partner of choice for hundreds of brands and agencies, helping them navigate the highly complex and ever-evolving landscape of programmatic marketing. https://goodwaygroup.com/

Equality Health has designed and developed an integrated health care delivery system for populations and cultures that have struggled with the traditional one-size-fits-all U.S. health care system. www.equalityhealth.com

Great Impact works with corporations that want to connect with their employees using a customized online store featuring branded merchandise so they can save money, cut inventory and increase employee happiness. www. greatimpactinc.com

Equinox Agents offers the industry’s only proactive chat solution guaranteed to increase qualified leads and customer satisfaction or you don’t pay a dime. www.equinoxagents.com

Greenspoon Marder is a national full-service Am Law 200 and NLJ 500 business law firm with more than 200 attorneys at 26 offices throughout the United States. www.gmlaw.com

ETC Compliance Solutions is recognized as Arizona’s premier provider of safety and environmental training and consulting services in the areas of OSHA, MSHA, DOT and EPA. www.e-t-c.com/

Harvard Group International is a leading retained search firm with a client base that includes companies in technology, aerospace and manufacturing. www.harvardsearch.com HeavyLifting Studios is a full-service augmented reality provider. It transforms how businesses add value to their

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service, product or brand by providing an immersive experience. www.hvls.io Homie combines technology, innovative software and expert customer service to make buying or selling a home fast and easy while drastically reducing the cost of selling your home. www.homie.com i2Verify is an employment verification solution allowing employees to see what information is being provided on their behalf with complete visibility to data and security features, and at no cost to the employer. www.i2verify.com IBW Advisors is a consulting firm that assists facility owners and managers in deploying cost-effective networks that improve cellular and public safety radio coverage and capacity inside their buildings. www.ibwadvisors.com iCelerate is dedicated to helping organizations address their most vital business challenges. Its spectrum of technology and outsourced solutions is tailored to every organization and geared toward lowering costs and maximizing the return on investment.www.icelerate.com IdeaMagic is your local digital marketing, business strategy and problem solutions expert. www.ideamagic.com/ ImageTag provides world-class document management software for the mid-market. It created the first fully integrated Microsoft Dynamics platform that seamlessly fit into existing business processes. www.imagetag.com Imaginative Materials & Design specializes in custom plastic fabrication, vacuum forming and plastic welding. imaginativematerials.com Iota provides comprehensive solutions for creating, connecting and managing communications for IoT. It has the first dedicated, national, carrier-grade wireless network system to standardize IoT network access. https://www.iotacommunications.com iT1 is a global solution provider with the mission of enabling clients to achieve their business goals through technology. www.it1.com

NEW MEMBERS Kerkton Security Technologies provides an easy to use, reliable and powerful cloud-based application. The holistic design allows dispatchers, patrol officers and administrators to optimally perform and communicate. www.kerkton.com

Liquidity Partners specializes in creating simple and powerful retirement solutions through tax-efficient strategies such as asset protection, annuities, longterm care and IRA & 401(k) rollovers. www.liquiditymap.com

Kingsly is an advisory group for clients that are doing initial coin offerings (ICO) and security token offerings (STO). kingsly.io

Loews Ventana Canyon Resort is a 398-guest room hotel in Tucson. loewshotels.com

Kirsh Manufacturing offers precision CNC machining for defense, aerospace, medical and industrial purposes. www. kirshmanufacturing.com

MATRIX is an IT services organization specializing in UI/UX design, custom app development, delivery management, agile coaching/consulting, IT staffing, offshore/nearshore, DevOps and global delivery. www.matrixres.com

KnolShare enables customer awesomeness through lean and agile training and enablement, digital transformation strategy support, DevOps optimization and culture shift. https://knolshare.org/ Lannister Holdings is a Web 3.0 software company focused on deploying AI, cloud native, 5G and blockchain solutions in real world business operations. www.

LannisterDevelopment.com Laser Options offers its trademark INFOtrack analysis, a full-service office automation offering that includes the world’s most respected manufacturers of multi-function copier/printers, managed print services, managed IT services, business process automation solution, and fully integrated document management and e-mail archive systems. www. laseroptionsinc.com/ Lasertel is a vertically integrated manufacturer of high-power semiconductor laser components and developer of customer laser solutions. www.lasertel.com/ Law Offices of Steven C. Vondran is an Internet and intellectual property law firm handling BSA, Microsoft, SIIA and Autodesk software audits; copyright, trademark; licensing; contracts; business disputes; and social media law. www. vondranlegal.com Lean Technologies is the provider of Thrive software, which puts data/process control back in the hands of operations, maintenance, quality, safety and continuous improvement leaders. leantech.com Lina’s Learning empowers continuous learning. www.linaslearning.com

Metropolitan Education Commission advocates for a quality education and promotes pathways to a higher education that will prepare students to contribute to a highly skilled workforce. www.metedu.org MotoSalas provides intellectual property services for innovative individuals and businesses across industries and technologies (patent, trademark, copyright, licensing, litigation). www.motosalaslaw.com Nexus is a digital currency, distributed framework and peer-to-peer network. It improves upon the blockchain protocol by focusing on speed, scalability, security and accessibility. www.nexusearth.com Nothing But NET develops, implements and provides information technology solutions and services. Services include 24x7 help desk, onsite and remote services, DRaaS, BaaS and private cloud hosting. www.nothingbutnet.com Optanix’s IT operations management software instantly cuts through the noise and automatically pinpoints the root cause of service issues. It is powering the shift to proactive support. www.optanix.com Paradox has created an AI recruiting assistant, Olivia, to help enterprise companies capture and screen candidates, improve conversions, answer candidate questions, and schedule interviews at scale. https://www.paradox.ai/ Pearl Street is an independent consultant providing technology deployment services to the electricity/energy industries. www.pearlstreetinc.com

Phocos Americas is a manufacturer of solar charge controllers for off-grid systems. www.Phocos.com Polymer Chemistry Innovations is a specialty chemical manufacturer with a portfolio of innovative polymers that provide technological advancements to a number of different industries. www.polychemistry.com Radius AI makes our communities, schools and roads safer through IoT, computer vision and artificial intelligence. www.radiusai.com Rincon Research Corporation is an employee-owned small business and an acknowledged national leader in advanced digital signal processing systems and technologies focused on national security programs. www.rincon.com Robot Aviation develops and produces unmanned aircraft systems for industrial applications. One of its ambitions is to become a global preferred provider of connected solutions. www.robotaviation.com RockCyber is a boutique executive consulting firm specializing in aligning cybersecurity strategy to enterprise business goals. www.RockCyber.com Satellite Management Services has provided a wide array of video, website, hosting, data and online security solutions to customers nationwide. Its mission is to provide the best personalized service. www.smstv.com Sears Gerbo Architecture is a full-service architecture firm specializing in complex building environments that science and technology companies require. https://searsgerboarch.com/ SEAT (Sports & Entertainment Alliance in Technology) is a global conference of sports and entertainment executives focused on technology as a driver for fan engagement, building innovative experiences for fans of sports. www. seatconsortium.com Sensagrate is developing an industry-defining, infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) communication platform that provides data to support intelligent decision-making for both human-driven and autonomous vehicles. www.sensagrate.com FALL 2018 TECH CONNECT

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NEW MEMBERS SerpicoDEV is a software development services company catering to entrepreneurs and early-stage growth companies. serpicodev.com Signature Consultants provides IT staffing on contract, contract to hire, and full-time basis in application development and programming, analysis and design, project management, architecture, and database development. www.sigconsult.com Sky Harbor International Airport is part of the Phoenix Airport System, which also includes Deer Valley and Goodyear airports, and is owned and operated by the city of Phoenix. www.skyharbor.com SmartCapital Limited solves business problems one smart idea at a time. www.smartcapitalltd.com Snowflake Computing’s mission is to enable every organization to be data-driven with instant elasticity, secure data sharing and per-second pricing across multiple clouds. https://www. snowflake.com/ Spectral Instruments has built its reputation upon being the premier provider of cooled, high-end CCD/CMOS-based imaging systems for scientific and industrial imaging applications. www.specinst.com/ Spencer Fane is a nationwide full-service law firm with a rapidly growing Phoenix office that covers technology, intellectual property, cybersecurity, FinTech, blockchain, software, IOT, corporate, employment and litigation. www.spencerfane.com Spirit Electronics is a veteran, women-owned business that provides superior supply-chain solutions and electronic component distribution for global leaders in aerospace and defense worldwide. www.spiritelectronics.com STEM Sports creates and provides turnkey K-8 educational curriculum rooted in Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core State Standards that combine STEM disciplines with sports. www.stemsports.com

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To join the Arizona Technology Council, a member-supported group that represents the interests of the state’s technology community, go the www.aztechcouncil.org.

Tech One IT provides clients with the opportunity to expand or cut back IT resources in order to mitigate the risks of rapidly changing technologies in our unpredictable economy. www.techoneit.com The Arizona Group is a full-service, local and independent insurance agency committed to leveraging its talent, enthusiasm and relationships to empower clients to understand and manage their risks. https://www.arizonagroup.com/ The Sunesis Group helps individuals and tech organizations think differently, and discover, define and deliver higher levels of performance, greater significance and more satisfying results. thesunesisgroup.com theONswitch is an innovative marketing consultancy focused on combining technology, creative strategy and content to deliver results. www.theonswitch.com Timothy Dunne / RBC Wealth Management provides corporate and individual clients with financial services, including retirement plans, executive financial planning, and portfolio management for individuals, trusts and foundations. rbcwmfa.com/timothy.dunne Tinfoil Security is a simple, developer-friendly service that lets you scan your website for vulnerabilities, and fix them quickly and easily. Its team of experts have extensive backgrounds in security across many organizations. www.tinfoilsecurity.com Tucson Unified Technology & Instruction is committed to enhancing and improving the technology resources and support at all of the Tucson Unified School District’s schools. tusd1.org Unbound Technology’s distributed trust platform applies revolutionary breakthroughs in multi-party computation mathematics to split secrets into parts never coming together and virtualizing HSM’s key management. unboundtech.com Valutek has serviced the critical environment needs for thousands of organizations in the life sciences, advanced material and academia. www.valutek.com

Vantage Mobility International is one of the largest manufacturers of wheelchair van conversions. It has advanced the mobility industry with a robust portfolio of power and manual ramp conversions and platform lifts. www.vantagemobility.com VentureAide delivers sustainable client value by applying objective, common-sense-driven analytical approach and sound judgment drawn upon the multi-functional, diversified and global experience. www.ventureaide.com Verodin’s revolutionary Security Instrumentation Platform (SIP) empowers enterprises to remove assumptions and prove their security effectiveness with quantifiable, evidence-based data.

Verodin.com Vertigrate is a consultancy focused on providing digital forensics and incident response services to its clients locally and nationally. www.vertigrate.com WachsField Technologies’ automation, SCADA, integration and controls services are used in different areas of the industrial sector, including design, networks, integration, reporting and automation. www.wachsfield.com Waiver syncs drivers with a car manufacturer’s maintenance schedule then notifies vendors when parts and services are due. They bid and owners pick. www.waiver.today Washington Federal - Commercial Banking Division offers services in business banking, commercial real estate financing and small business banking. WashingtonFederal.com Watershed Idea Foundry provides consulting and additive manufacturing services focused on biomedical growth and innovation. watershedideas.com/ Waymo is a self-driving technology company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to move around. www.waymo.com Zinatt Technologies develops data tracking software for law enforcement agencies. www.zinatt.com

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IT SOLUTIONS a TDS速 Company IT SOLUTIONS a TDS速 Company

VISIONA R YSPONSORS SPONSORS VISIONARY VISIONARY VISIONA R YSPONSORS SPONSORS VISIONARY VISIONARY VISIONA R Y SPONSORS VISIONARY Alliance Bank | APS | Blue Canoe Marketing | cStor | Cyrus One | EY | GuardVant | Indecomm Global Services

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